N-Heterocyclic Carbene-Catalyzed Formal Conjugate Hydroacylation: An Atom-Economic Synthesis of 1 H-Indol-3-yl Esters.

An atom-economic synthesis of useful 1 H-indol-3-yl esters has been demonstrated by an N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-catalyzed formal conjugate hydroacylation of 2-phenyl-indol-3-ones with readily accessible aldehydes. This reaction involves a reductive hydride transfer process that was rarely investigated in the field of NHC catalysis. In this process, the hydrogen from the aldehydes was formally transferred to a heteroatom with NHC catalysis for the first time.